6 Standout Shows from London Collections: Men

 

Those who have been in the fashion game long enough will remember when LC:M was just a day tacked on the back of London Fashion Week. Today, LC:M, short for London Collections Men, has its own four-day event, which has underscored what many people concede to be fashion canonical law: There is no men's style like London men's style.

 From the polished dandies of Savile Row to the uber cool kids in East London to the youth quake in Notting Hill, this city pulsates with electricity when it comes to men's fashion — and the money rolls in, too. "Sales [of men's clothing in the UK] rose by 22% over the last five years totaling £13.5 billion in 2014," explained chair of LC:M, Dylan Jones, also noting that the UK and international menswear sector is currently growing faster than womenswear.

According to Caroline Rush, CEO of the BFC, there are now 77 shows, 67 percent more than the inaugural event in 2012, and double the number of attendees. In other words, it has been one big blurry fashion party here in London. 

The week did include a few disappointments: Topshop looked a bit cheaper than usual, and was not as exciting as we've come to expect; while Tom Ford's iridescent suiting just felt dated. But here, we've highlighted some of the best in show:

House of Holland

Those who have been in the fashion game long enough will remember when LC:M was just a day tacked on the back of London Fashion Week. Today, LC:M, short for London Collections Men, has its own four-day event, which has underscored what many people concede to be fashion canonical law: There is no men's style like London men's style. From the polished dandies of Savile Row to the uber cool kids in East London to the youth quake in Notting Hill, this city pulsates with electricity when it comes to men's fashion — and the money rolls in, too. "Sales [of men's clothing in the UK] rose by 22% over the last five years totaling £13.5 billion in 2014," explained chair of LC:M, Dylan Jones, also noting that the UK and international menswear sector is currently growing faster than womenswear.

According to Caroline Rush, CEO of the BFC, there are now 77 shows, 67 percent more than the inaugural event in 2012, and double the number of attendees. In other words, it has been one big blurry fashion party here in London. 

The week did include a few disappointments: Topshop looked a bit cheaper than usual, and was not as exciting as we've come to expect; while Tom Ford's iridescent suiting just felt dated. But here, we've highlighted some of the best in show:

House of Holland

Despite having just delivered a 67-look resort collection (more than double what most designers show), the whirling dervish that is Henry Holland still had the energy to debut his first menswear collection at Selfridges on Sunday. "I looked at my childhood and all the things that I loved and basically it involved good food, football and fun," he told Fashionista of his inspiration. "I also thought how a House of Holland boy would dress and I went from there." That manifested in 90's rave clothes with slogans such as "I just want to enjoy myself," clashing rainbow and grid patterns, and neon pops on denim. It was all was youthful, energetic and unrelentingly fun. This is the kind of collection that creates real excitement on the shop floor and also has oodles of editorial appeal. 

Holland also dove into new commercial territory by offering a direct to retail scheme — a model Moschino and Versus have also experimented with. The collection was sold via launch partners like Selfridges, Opening Ceremony, Galeries Lafayette simultaneously the same day it was shown to press.